New York City was founded in 1625, by Dutch traders as New Amsterdam.[2] The settlement was a slow growing village, but was diverse. However, the Netherlands never had a large emigrant population, and the colony attracted few Dutch and more people from different ethnic groups.[3] As early as 1646, 18 languages were spoken in New Amsterdam, and ethnic groups within New Amsterdam included Dutch, Danes, English, Flemish, French, Germans, Irish, Italians, Norwegians, Poles, Portuguese, Scots, Swede, Walloons, and Bohemians.[9] The young, diverse village also became a seafarer's town, with taverns and smugglers.[3] After Peter Stuyvesant became Director, New Amsterdam began to grow more quickly, achieving a population of 1,500, and growing to 2,000 by 1655 and almost to 9,000 in 1664, when the British seized the colony, renaming it New York.[10]

The first recorded African Americans were brought to the present-day United States in 1619 as slaves.[12] New York State began emancipating slaves in 1799, and in 1841, all slaves in New York State were freed, and many of New York's emancipated slaves lived in or moved to Fort Greene, Brooklyn.[13][14] All slaves in the United States were later freed in 1865, with the end of the American Civil War and the ratification of the Thirteenth Amendment.[15] After the Civil War, African Americans left the South, where slavery had been the strongest, in large numbers.[4] These movements are now known as the Great Migration, during the 1910s and 1920s and the Second Great Migration, from the end of World War II until 1970.[4][16]

After arriving in New York, the African Americans formed neighborhoods, partially due to racism of the landlords at the time.[4] The socioeconomic center of these neighborhoods, and all of "Black America", was Harlem, in Northern Manhattan.[17]Hamilton Heights, on Harlem's western side, was a nicer part of Harlem, and Sugar Hill, named because its inhabitants enjoyed the "sweet life", was the nicest part.[18][19]

Staten Island is home to the oldest continuously settled free black community in the United States, Sandy Ground. This community along the Southwestern shore of Staten Island was once home to thousands of free black men and women, who came to Staten Island to work as oystermen.[33] Members of this community also settled and established communities on the North Shore, such as West New Brighton and Port Richmond after oyster fishing became scarce in 1916. Many African Americans settled in several North Shore communities during the Great Migration, such as Arlington, Mariners Harbor, and New Brighton. Although the black community of Staten Island is mostly dispersed throughout the North Shore of the Island, there are several African Americans living on the South Shore.

According to the 2010 US Census data on brooklyn.com there are approximately 370,000 (16.4%) Caribbean descendants in Brooklyn. That figure includes persons who identify as Dominican (3.3%), but does not include the (7.4%) Puerto Rican population. Including Puerto Ricans, there are approximately 560,000 (23.8%) persons of Caribbean descent in Brooklyn. Similar, but not identical demographics in America exist in Miami, but there are fewer people of Cuban descent in New York.

New York State has the largest population of Jamaican Americans in the United States.[34] About 3.5% of the population of Brooklyn is of Jamaican heritage. In 1655, Jamaica was captured by the British, who brought African slaves in large numbers to work on plantations.[34] The African slaves were emancipated in 1838, and owners starting paying wages to workers, who were now free to immigrate to the United States.[34] Many Jamaicans immigrated in the years following 1944, when the United States economy was rebuilding from World War II, seeing opportunity.[34] After 1965, when immigration quotas were lifted, Jamaican immigration skyrocketed again.[35]

According to the 2000 census, there are about 200,000 Haitians/Haitian Americans in Brooklyn, showing that it is home to the largest number of Haitian immigrants in New York City.[40] The neighborhood that has the largest Haitian community in New York is Flatbush, Brooklyn. The 2010 US Census indicates that 3% of Brooklynites are of Haitian descent. On Flatbush Avenue, Nostrand Avenue and Church Avenue you can find Haitian businesses, cuisine's, music and etc. Other prominent Haitian neighborhoods include East Flatbush, Canarsie, and Kensington in Brooklyn and Springfield Gardens, Queens Village, Cambria Heights in Queens.

There is a significant community of Bangladeshis in New York City, a majority of whom reside in the boroughs of Queens and Brooklyn. The Bangladeshis in New York tend to form enclaves in neighborhoods predominantly populated by Asian Indians. These enclaves include one in Kensington, featuring Bangladeshi grocers, hairdressers, and halal markets, one in Jackson Heights, and one on Hillside Avenue, in Queens. As well as the Bangladeshis living alongside the Indians, they, in fact, own many of the Indian restaurants in Brooklyn and Queens.

The New York City Metropolitan Area contains the largest ethnic Chinese population outside of Asia, enumerating an estimated 735,019 individuals as of 2012,[44] including at least 9 Chinatowns, comprising the original Manhattan Chinatown, three in Queens (the Flushing Chinatown, the Elmhurst Chinatown, and the newly emerged Chinatown in Corona), three in Brooklyn (the Sunset Park Chinatown, the Avenue U Chinatown, and the Bensonhurst Chinatown), and one each in Edison, New Jersey and Nassau County, Long Island,[45] not to mention fledgling ethnic Chinese enclaves emerging throughout the New York City metropolitan area. Chinese Americans, as a whole, have had a (relatively) long tenure in New York City. The first Chinese immigrants came to Lower Manhattan around 1870, looking for the "gold" America had to offer.[46] By 1880, the enclave around Five Points was estimated to have from 200 to as many as 1,100 members.[46] However, the Chinese Exclusion Act, which went into effect in 1882, caused an abrupt decline in the number of Chinese who immigrated to New York and the rest of the United States.[46] Later, in 1943, the Chinese were given a small quota, and the community's population gradually increased until 1968, when the quota was lifted and the Chinese American population skyrocketed.[46]

The Manhattan Chinatown (simplified Chinese: 纽约华埠; traditional Chinese: 紐約華埠; pinyin: Niŭyuē Huá Bù) is home to the largest concentration of Chinese people in the Western Hemisphere[47] and is one of the oldest ethnic Chinese enclaves outside of Asia. Within Manhattan's expanding Chinatown lies a "Little Fuzhou" on East Broadway and surrounding streets, occupied predominantly by immigrants from the Fujian Province of Mainland China. Areas surrounding the "Little Fuzhou" consist mostly of Cantonese immigrants from Guangdong Province, the earlier Chinese settlers, and in some areas moderately of Cantonese immigrants. In the past few years, however, the Cantonese dialect that has dominated Chinatown for decades is being rapidly swept aside by Mandarin, the national language of China and the lingua franca of most of the latest Chinese immigrants.[48] The energy and population of Manhattan's Chinatown are fueled by relentless, massive immigration from Mainland China, both legal and illegal in origin, propagated in large part by New York's high density, extensive mass transit system, and huge economic marketplace.

Elmhurst, another neighborhood in Queens, also has a large and growing Chinese community.[61][62]

One of the Brooklyn Chinatowns. New York City's satellite Chinatowns in Queens and Brooklyn are thriving as traditionally urban enclaves, as large-scale Chinese immigration continues into New York.[63][64][65]

By 1988, 90% of the storefronts on Eighth Avenue in Sunset Park, in southern Brooklyn, had been abandoned. Chinese immigrants then moved into this area, not only new arrivals from China, but also members of Manhattan's Chinatown, seeking refuges from high rents, who fled to the cheap property costs and rents of Sunset Park and formed the Brooklyn Chinatown,[66] which now extends for 20 blocks along Eighth Avenue, from 42nd to 62nd Streets. This relatively new but rapidly growing Chinatown located in Sunset Park was originally settled by Cantonese immigrants like Manhattan's Chinatown in the past, but is now being repopulated by Fujianese (including Fuzhou people) and Wenzhounese[67][68][69] immigrants.

Another Chinatown has developed in southern Brooklyn, on Avenue U in the Homecrest area, as evidenced by the growing number of Chinese-run fruit markets, restaurants, beauty and nail salons, and computer and general electronics dealers. Also emerging in southern Brooklyn, in the Bensonhurst neighborhood, below the BMT West End Line (D train) along on 86th Street between 18th Avenue and Stillwell Avenue, is Brooklyn's third Chinatown. The second Chinatown and the third, emerging Chinatown of Brooklyn are now increasingly carrying the majority of the Cantonese population in Brooklyn as the Cantonese dissipate from the main Brooklyn Chinatown in Sunset Park. With the migration of the Cantonese in Brooklyn now to Bensonhurst, and along with new Chinese immigration, small clusters of Chinese people and businesses in different parts of Bensonhurst have grown integrating with other ethnic groups and businesses. It is possible that a few more small Chinatowns might form as the Chinese population and number of Chinese businesses continue to grow in various sections of Bensonhurst as it can be witnessed.[70][71][72][73][74][75]

The first Filipino settlement in the United States was Saint Malo, Louisiana, established in 1763.[77] Mass immigration started in the late 19th century, to service the plantations of Hawaii and the farms of California.[78] The immigration quota was lowered to 50 Filipinos a year, however, Filipinos in the United States Navy were exempt from this.[78] Therefore, Filipinos settled near Naval Bases and formed ethnic enclaves due to discrimination.[78] The quota was raised in the second half of the 20th century, starting another wave of Filipino immigration, looking for political freedom and opportunity, and one which has extended until present.[78]

Indian Americans are another group that has settled in New York City, forming a few different ethnic enclaves. One of these is called "Curry Row" and is in the East Village, Manhattan, centered on 6th Street between 1st and 2nd Avenues, another is called "Curry Hill" or "Little India", centered on Lexington Avenue between 26th and 31st Streets, and another is in Jackson Heights, Queens, centered on 74th Street between Roosevelt and 37th Avenue.[79][80]

Richmond Hill, Queens is another "Little India" community. This area has the largest Sikh population in the New York City area. It is also known as "Little Punjab".

Some of the region's main centers of Indian culture are located in central New Jersey, particularly in Middlesex County. In Edison, New Jersey, ethnic Asian Indians represent more than 28% of the population,[81] the highest percentage of any place in the United States with more than 1,000 residents identifying their ancestry.[82] The Oak Tree Road area, which crosses through Edison and Iselin is a growing cultural hub with high concentrations of Indian stores and restaurants.[83]

There have been three major waves of Indian immigrants, the first between 1899 and 1913, the second after India was granted independence from the United Kingdom in 1947, and the third after the immigration quota for individual countries was lifted in 1965.[84]

As of 2010[update], the New York City metropolitan area contains the largest Asian Indian population in North America.

As of 2011[update] within the city the largest groups of Japanese residents are in Astoria, Queens and Yorkville in the Upper East Side of Manhattan. As of the 2010 U.S. Census there are about 1,300 Japanese in Astoria and about 1,100 Japanese in Yorkville. 500 Japanese people lived in East Village. As of the same year, there are about 6,000 Japanese in Bergen County, New Jersey and 5,000 Japanese in Westchester County, New York. As of that year most short-term Japanese business executives in Greater New York City reside in Midtown Manhattan or in New York City suburbs.[86] In 2011 Dolnick and Semple wrote that while other ethnic groups in the New York City region cluster in specific areas, the Japanese were distributed "thinly" and "without a focal point" such as Chinatown for the Chinese. They stated that the relatively low number of Japanese in the city and area contributed to a lack of a focal point existing: there were about 20,000 Japanese in New York City compared to 305,000 Chinese.[86] They wrote that Japanese supermarkets such as the Mitsuwa Marketplace in Edgewater, New Jersey are "[t]closest thing to hubs" of Japanese influence in Greater New York City.[86]

As of 2000[update] Japanese expatriates in Westchester County, New York lived mostly in Scarsdale, and according to Lisa W. Foderaro of The New York Times it was well known as a place in Japan with good housing stock and schools.[87] In addition some Japanese, as of 2000, seek housing and apartments in Eastchester, Harrison, Hartsdale, and Rye.[87] Due to the declining Japanese economy, by 2000 the Japanese presence in Westchester County had decreased,[87] and as of 2002 the declining presence lead to closures of businesses and the end of some activities.[88]

Koreans started immigrating with the signing of the Korean-American Treaty of Amity and Commerce, which allowed them to do so freely.[89] The first wave of Korean immigration lasted from 1903–1905, when 7,000 Koreans came to the United States.[89] After this first wave, the 1907 "Gentlemens Agreement" of President Theodore Roosevelt restricted Korean immigration to the United States. President Harry Truman repealed this in 1948.[89] and from 1951–1964, another wave of Koreans migrated to the United States, and a third wave lasted from 1969–1987. As economic conditions improved in Korea, many Koreans chose to stay.[89]

Pakistani Americans have a large presence in New York, with the city (along with New Jersey) hosting the largest Pakistani population of any region in the United States. The population of Pakistanis is estimated at around 35,000; they are settled primarily in the boroughs of Queens (more specifically Jackson Heights) and Brooklyn (Coney Island Avenue).[94] These numbers make Pakistani Americans the fifth largest Asian American group in New York City. As of 2006[update], 50,000 people of Pakistani descent were said to be living in New York City. This figure rises to 70,000 when illegal immigrants are also included.[95] Pakistani migration to New York has occurred heavily only since the past two to three decades, reflecting the history of Pakistani migration elsewhere in the country; "Little Pakistans" or ethnic enclaves populated by Pakistanis tend to be characterised and populated by other South Asian Americans as well, including Indians and Bangladeshis and thus are dominated by South Asian culture. Pakistani restaurants, grocery markets and halal shops are abound in such areas.

There is a community of Vietnamese at the Bowery in an area unofficially known as "Little Saigon." The area is overshadowed by neighboring Chinatown in that it is relatively indistinguishable. The area however is marked by an abundance of Vietnamese cuisines.

Albanians first immigrated to the United States from Southern Italy, Greece, and Kosovo in the 1920s. Later, in the 1990s, after the fall of communism in Eastern Europe, many Albanians flocked to the United States.[96] Two neighborhoods that became Albanian are Belmont (especially near Arthur Avenue) and Morris Park (especially around Lydig Avenue, the most highly populated Albanian American community in New York). Both are 20th-century Italian-American neighborhoods in the Bronx.[97][98]

In April 2012, it was reported by the New York Times that 9,500 people in the Bronx identify themselves as Albanian.[99] Many live near Pelham Parkway and Allerton Ave in the Bronx.[99]

Germans starting immigrating to the United States in the 17th century, and until the late 19th century, when Germany was the country of origin for the largest number of immigrants to the United States.[100] In fact, Over one million Germans entered the United States in the 1850s alone.[100]

The largest Greek migration to the United States began around 1910 and ended around 1930, with most migrating for the economic opportunity, but as living conditions in Greece improved in the 1980s, Greek migration slowed.[103] However, Astoria remains New York's "Little Greece".[103]

Irish Americans make up approximately 5.3% of New York City's population, composing the second largest non-Hispanic white ethnic group.[104] Irish Americans first came to America in colonial years (pre-1776), with immigration rising in the 1820s due to poor living conditions in Ireland.[105] But the largest wave of Irish immigration came after the Great Famine in 1845.[105]

After they came, Irish immigrants often crowded into subdivided homes, only meant for one family, and cellars, attics, and alleys all became home for some Irish immigrants.[106] In fact, New York once had more Irishmen than Dublin itself.[106] The Irish in New York developed a particular reputation for joining the New York City Police Department as well as the New York Fire Department.

A street in Manhattan's Little Italy. Chinatown's influence can clearly be seen, but one can see there is a small Italian community left.

At 8.3% of the population, Italian Americans compose the largest European American ethnic group in New York City, and are the largest ethnic group in Staten Island (Richmond County), making it the most Italian county in the United States, with 37.7% of the population reporting Italian American ancestry.[104][112]

Though Italian immigration began as early as the 17th century, with Pietro Cesare Alberti, from Venice, being the first reported Italian living in the New Amsterdam colony, effective immigration started around 1860 with the founding of the Kingdom of Italy. Italian immigration skyrocketed, and lasted that way until 1921, when Congress passed the Emergency Quota Act that slowed the immigration of Italians.[113] Most of the Italian immigrants to New York were from Southern Italy, from cities, Sicily, or Naples.[113]

Many ethnic enclaves in New York City are Latin American-centric. Latin American ethnic groups with enclaves in New York include Argentinians, Brazilians, Colombians, Dominicans, Salvadorans, Ecuadorians, Haitians, Mexicans, and Puerto Ricans.[140]

The Dominican population of Woodside is concentrated on three blocks of identical apartment buildings.[153] More immigrants groups are found in large numbers in Woodside, including Irish, Chinese, Koreans, Islamics, Mexicans, and Colombians.[153] Currently, the South Bronx is another neighborhood with a Dominican population. During the 1970s, the area, while heavily populated by Puerto Ricans & African Americans, became infamous for poverty and arson, a lot by landlords seeking insurance money on "coffin ships" of buildings.[156] By 1975, the South Bronx was the most devastated urban landscape in America, and had experienced the largest population drop in urban history, given the exception of the aftermath of war.[157] The South Bronx has started to recover, and most of it has recovered from the damage done in the 1970s.[157] Also, by 1984, the traditionally heavily Italian neighborhood of Corona had instead become heavily Dominican, and Corona experienced rapid economic growth – 59% – as compared to the rest of the city experiencing 7%, as well as having the most overcrowded school district in the city (as of 2006).[150] Washington Heights is another Dominican neighborhood. The Dominican population of Washington Heights is significant, and candidates for political office in the Dominican Republic will run parades up Broadway through the 150s and 160s.[158]

In some of these neighborhoods, shops advertise in Spanish and English, the Dominican flag flies proudly from windows, storefronts, and balconies, and the primary language is Dominican Spanish.[154]

Puerto Ricans have been immigrating to New York since 1838, though they did not arrive in large numbers until the 20th century. In 1910 only 500 Puerto Ricans lived in New York, but by 1970 that number had skyrocketed to over 800,000, and 40% of those lived in the Bronx.[161] Unlike the other four boroughs, Puerto Rican populations are significant throughout the Bronx, though there is slightly higher concentrations in the South Bronx.[162] The first group of Puerto Ricans immigrated to New York City in the mid-19th century when Puerto Rico was a Spanish colony and its people Spanish subjects and as such they were immigrants. The following wave of Puerto Ricans to move to New York City did so after the Spanish–American War in 1898.[163] Puerto Ricans were no longer Spanish subjects and citizens of Spain, they were now Puerto Rican citizens of an American possession and needed passports to travel to the mainland of the United States. That was until 1917, when the United States Congress approved Jones-Shafroth Act which gave Puerto Ricans in the island a U.S. citizenship with certain limitations. Puerto Ricans living in the mainland U.S. however, were given full American citizenship and were allowed to seek political office in the states which they resided. Two months later, when Congress passed the Selective Service Act, conscription was extended to the Puerto Ricans both in the island and in the U.S.. It was expected that Puerto Rican men 18 years and older serve in the military [164] during World War I.[165] The Jones-Shafroth Act also allowed Puerto Ricans to travel between Puerto Rico and the United States mainland without the need of a passport, thereby becoming migrants. The advent of air travel was one of the principal factors that led to the largest wave of migration of Puerto Ricans to New York City in the 1950s, known as "The Great Migration". Although Florida has received some dispersal of the population, there has been a resurgence in Puerto Rican migration to New York and New Jersey[166][167] - consequently, the New York City Metropolitan Area has witnessed an increase in its Puerto Rican population from 1,177,430 in 2010 to a Census-estimated 1,201,850 in 2012,[168] maintaining its status by a significant margin as the most important cultural and demographic center for Puerto Rican Americans outside San Juan.

Brooklyn has several neighborhoods with a Puerto Rican presence, many of the ethnic Puerto Rican neighborhoods in Brooklyn formed before the Puerto Rican neighborhoods in the South Bronx because of the work demand in the Brooklyn Navy Yard in the 1940s and 50s. Bushwick has the highest concentration of Puerto Ricans in Brooklyn. Other neighborhoods with significant populations include Williamsburg, East New York, Brownsville, Coney Island, Red Hook, and Sunset Park.[24][169][170][171] In Williamsburg; Graham Avenue is nicknamed "Avenue of Puerto Rico" because of the high density and strong ethnic enclave of Puerto Ricans who have been living in the neighborhood since the 1950s. The Puerto Rican day parade is also hosted on the avenue.

Staten Island has a fairly large Puerto Rican population along the North Shore, especially in the Mariners' Harbor, Arlington, Elm Park, Graniteville, Port Richmond & Stapleton neighborhoods, where the population is in the 20% range.

In New York and many other cities, Puerto Ricans usually live in close proximity with Dominicans and African Americans.[162] High concentrations of Puerto Ricans are also present in numerous public housing developments throughout the city.[162]

In some places in the South Bronx, Spanish is the primary language.[161] Throughout the 1970s, the South Bronx became known as the epitome of urban decay, but has since made a recovery.[157]

North Williamsburg is an ethnic enclave centered on Israeli Americans.[176] There is also a small community of Israelis centered on Kings Highway, also in Brooklyn.[177] Israelis first immigrated to the United States after 1948. United Kingdom, and the United States has experienced two large waves of immigration from Israel.[178] The first was during the 1950s and early 1960s, 300,000 Israelis immigrated to the United States, and another wave, starting in the mid-1970s and lasting through the present, in which 100,000 to 500,000 Israelis have immigrated to the United States.[178]

Staten Island has a large Palestinian community, found in the New Springville area.